Alhamdulillah, the Lad and I are officially married. Despite minor hiccups here and there, everything went well with everyone’s blessings and contributions. Do keep us in your prayers as we embark in this new phase in life. In shaa Allah, I will be doing up a review of the vendors (if there’s time) 🙈. Meanwhile, here’re two faces to put to the ‘Lad and I’ part 😅
I have so many drafts that I think it’s just best to summarize each components in this one long entry. Please bear with me.
Studies: Juggle
Juggling work, part-time in house studies and wedding prep is no joke. To be able to accomplish all these by the end of this year without any major breakdown would be a feat on its own. As of today, I have completed 8 practicum observation sessions that are supposed to be completed by the 22nd of September, in other words, I AM DONE WITH PRACTICUM WOOHOO.
Work
It’s teachers’ day today which only means TERM 3 IS OVERRRRRR. 3 Terms down, 1 more term to gooooo. In all honesty, despite the many stressful deadlines that I have to meet for the past 3 terms, I really am rather thankful that my team this year is so supportive. Knowing the number of things I have on my plate, every single team member has been so helpful in taking some things off or doing some things together with me. I really feel blessed to have such awesome team members.
Wedding
Now, for the fun part hehehe *rubs hands together* So many things have been settled, alhamdulillah. Hence, I really do not know where the time has gone to. Maybe what the lad say is logically true, with the amount of work each of us has, it makes the time pass a little faster. The following are not in chronological order because person here is having a period brain.
Berkat
My dearest wonderful mother enlisted the help of one of her closest friend to purchase the berkat item in bulk load. I remember mentioning it before that she already knew what she wanted from the beginning of the wedding planning. To see her stick to that decision until loads of boxes are practically stacked up at home currently, I really am in awe at her determination. At one point of time, she was really disheartened knowing that there might be shipping challenges but alhamdulillah, the satisfaction on her face upon seeing those boxes stacked up, that’s all that matters.
Yesterday, she requested the help of my brother and SIL to bring her across the border to search for the bags for the berkat. I really really think she had lots of fun there hahaha. So technically now, we are just waiting for the thank you tags from our card vendor to be ready and production line shall begin, in shaa Allah.
Card Vendor
Since the end of last year, I think, I have been playing around with the design of the card. Practically diy-ing the card from scratch and even asked the help of the btbs here for suggestions as to where to get them printed. I was even thinking of asking an acquaintance to help out with the printing. However, last two Saturdays (19th August 2017), the Lad and I decided to take a leap of faith in a proper card vendor. We(I) were (was) practically like a kid in the store. Alhamdulillah after a number of deliberations, we paid the deposit and wedding cards, thank you tags and etc were settled.
//Update: They have sent us the draft of the design and I thought I was being picky, but gosh, the Lad is pickier about certain elements hahahaha. Powerpoint is my favourite software ever now btw #jobhazard, with some minor tweaks here and there, sent back what we wanted and waiting for further updates now.
Colour theme
The colour theme for the family was settled way back last year. The tailoring of their clothes were done early this year and almost every month they have to do a fitting check hahahahah just to make sure they still fit the clothes.
Basically in all honesty, many of the elements of the wedding have been thought of since the start of the planning which was early last year. This includes the colour the Lad and I would want our groomsmen and bridesmaids to wear. The Lad managed to settle (as in have already bought all their clothes) his groomsmen attire during the fasting month (so efficient this guy). The groomsmen and bridesmaids will be wearing the same colour throughout the event. That was one thing we discussed and the Lad is okay with.
Deco
On the topic of colour theme, we have met up with K.ak Ma.s and K.ak N.ora with regards to the wedding deco last Wednesday (23rd August 2017). Basically, all the colours have been decided and the layout. The next follow-up will be in October where we will be bringing our mothers as well for the final decision on the menu. *prays everything goes well*
Marriage course
Attended a marriage course by A.pkim with one of my closest friends, R and her partner. We opted for the 1-day course and truth to be told, we all thought that things could have been done with more in-depth detail? Maybe that’s why most of the couples opted for the 2-days course but we did not have the luxury of time for that. I do appreciate the first half of the course though with Ustazah S. DAMN WAS SHE STRICT. I was scared to my wits! R and I was basically squeezing each other’s hands and legs while stealing glances at our partners. Just thinking back of the session makes me shudder. It certainly made me think as to how well of a Muslim am I and so much I have to improve on, we have to improve on, together. What more now.
Gift Trays
Have liaised with the lady in charge and colour of trays, base and ribbons have been decided back in end of July. She told us to get back to her early so that she can set aside the required decorations needed for us. Whee. Now all we need to do is to strike off the remaining items on the list.
Okay, I think that’s about it?
OH WAIT!!!! We’ll be having our outfit selection soooooooon.
SOOOOO EXCITINGGGGGGGGG!
But, help though? Where can I get a good corset / body shaper? 😦
Okay that’s all!
Monday, 3rd July 2017, was a Youth Day school holiday. Woohoo, the perks of being a primary school teacher, you get both youth and children’s day holidays! 😂
The Lad and I have engaged n.afimages as our main photographer for our wedding day and with the package, we have ourselves a choice of pre / post wedding shoot. Alhamdulillah to us too, when the lad’s close army friends found out we were getting married, one of them offered to do a photoshoot for us. He too allowed us to choose whether we want pre / post. Upon discussions with the lad and a close colleague, we decided on pre with his friend and post with n.afimages.
I was thankful that I managed to book Aida as my mua for the pre-wed shoot but liaising the date was so damn hard for all parties hahahah cause of the lad’s busy schedule and my working hours and cause we didn’t want to interfere with the friend’s other clients schedule.
So texted here and there and finally we decided on Youth Day, a week prior to the day itself!! The Lad has a match that evening so we had to start early. 9am early guysssss = makeup at 6.30am. So much for school holidays, I still had to wake up at the same time I do for work. By the end of the day, we were exhausted….
So thankful to have 3 of my close friends with us helping us out with the shoot, snapping bts photos / videos, advising how to pose etc. It was so last minute, we were quite clueless of where to go etc. I did enjoy the whole process though. It was really entertaining hahaha and it sort of prepared me for my tolerance level of heels (Zero tolerance btw) 😣
Maaaaybe will upload the photos here when I’ve received them 🙊
Reception – Part 2 – Booking day
Initially, I planned for us to camp overnight outside the CC at 2am since that was around the timing my cousin queued last year. When the Lad first heard of the timing, he said it was too early? I insisted that it wasn’t and that we could have our dawn meal there. Lo and behold, he was the one who was paranoid and called the CC’s office at 6pm on 31st May and texted me ‘I don’t want to take the risk bb. I’ll queue at 9pm.’ AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I literally burst out laughing at the airport, while waiting for my aunt with my mother. Showed my mother the text and she stifled a laugh too. #itoldyouso
He was really queuing there while the office was still open at 9.30pm. The officers even gave him a chair to sit on. I only came around 11pm after visiting the maternal grandparents. I came with Mcdonalds and Fluff’s cupcakes for supper & dawn meal. Picnic mat as suggested by one of my closest colleague & my mother and my trusty small neck pillow. The Lad actually brought a small pillow/blanket. HAHAHA. #sodamnprepared. While on the way there, he was scaring me telling me the CC has posted certain dates that were already blocked. Thankfully, the first and second week of December weren’t affected. There was also another lady who came down, saw him and got a shock and went off.
So basically we were alone and first in line till about 3am when another friendly couple came. They too told us that it was conveyed to them to come earlier to queue as it was a first come first serve basis. Lucky for all of us, our dates didn’t clash. The fiance of the couple even told us that if our dates were to clash, they would have walked away and queue up at their second choice of venue. There was another pakcik who came around 5am to ask us about our dates. He was so thankful and immediately called his daughter up to queue at the next venue quickly. YOU SEE HOW EVERYBODY HAD THIS MENTALITY? See, this is where I was really grateful that they had such thoughts and really humbled by their honesty because what happened next was quite ugly if I can be honest.
At around 7.45am, a makcik came with her daughter. She didn’t tegur or say anything to us or the other couple. She just laid her mat and sat down. I was shocked lah tbh. The Lad was napping and I didn’t want to wake him up just because I was having anxiety issue. The fiancee of the couple looked at me and gave me the :O face hahahah and we were so clueless as to what’s going to happen next.
My dad came down at around 8am to accompany us for awhile and finally the makcik said something to us. She first asked me when’s my date and after I told her the date itself and the date before for set-up she said okay. She asked queue since what time? I told her 9.30pm la (the Lad’s timing what) She was shocked and laughed. She then asked the friendly couple what was their date and lo and behold they had the same dates. The makcik asked what time did they start queuing and the fiancee said 3am to which I nodded when the makcik looked at me for confirmation. Okay so this is where I would think that if anyone who is understanding enough or humble enough would at least have the decency to back off, and go to another venue, right? NOPE. She stayed right there, trying to figure out the loophole with her daughter which was….BALLOTING. I mean…the audacity? But guess what….15mins before the opening time, another lady came alone. The makcik asked her what’s her date and….I guess HE was testing the Lad and I, it happened to be our dates. So the makcik showed this other lady about the loophole of BALLOTING. The dengki is real guys…..
The Lad could already sense the anxiety in me building and the fiance was trying to reassure his fiancee. When the office opened, I guess it was already customary of the officers to have the first two applicants because they immediately only asked for the first two forms. And the fiance was whispering to us 3 ‘things are going to get ugly…’ and true enough the makcik went ‘Hey, but it is stated here if we enter the office at the same time for the same dates, there will be ballot’ to which this other lady (I really had a good name for her until what happened later on okay) added ‘yeah, it’s stated here balloting will be done. The officers replied yes balloting will be done only if the first two who queued and walk in are of the same dates but now it is different dates so it is fine. THE MAKCIK AND THE LADY NOT HAPPY LA. The Lad and the fiance was quiet all the while keeping their cool know. I was already boiling and I was fasting?! The makcik insisted and her soon to be son-in-law also stepped in and pointed out the black and white. WHICH I DO NOT UNDERSTAND BECAUSE THE FIRST LINE CLEARLY STATED ‘FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS’
They were relentless, I kid you not. I was already shaking with anger, disappointment that such characters existed (tak berhati perut langsung ke dah tahu orang queue semalaman). I really think the officers felt intimidated because they wanted to give in. They were already preparing balloting envelopes to which I couldn’t take it anymore and softly say while shaking, I even apologized to them behind me?! ‘I’m sorry, cik, I’m sorry but may I just say something?‘ Did I continue? Nope. Why? because girl here cengeng and was on the verge of crying right there right then. The Lad had to hold my hand to calm me down and finally he voiced out calmly (I love my lad so much) ‘To be fair, whatever was conveyed to us and whatever was conveyed to them were different, but at the same time, we bothered to queue up from 9.30pm while they’ve only waited for a mere few minutes. If that were the case, I wouldn’t have queued and spent my time sleeping on the floor‘. When I heard that, I was really floored because yes, this Lad gave up the chair for me to be comfortable while he napped on the hard floor. He gave up some of his nap time so that I could nap and he could look after our belongings. But did that change things? NOPE. Now this is where I’m sorry but I have to say this b* of a lady raised her voice at us and said ‘We are not trying to start an argument here.’ ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY THAT WE WERE?! It took every ounce of me to stay calm and not lash out. Boleh batal pe puasa…..
The fiance also finally spoke up to which he calmly asked this Indian officer who came to the rescue of the two others ‘If I may ask, what is the common procedure for your bookings?’ to which the Indian lady officer replied ‘first to walk in the door’ ‘Okay so if you don’t mind, may I know what’s the problem now?’ to which the makcik and lady chipped in ‘Ballot’. *inserts jkafjdsafuesagfsk here guyssssssss*
So the Indian officer told us that she’ll take all the forms, ask her supervisor and will get back to us. So us 4 (lad & I and friendly couple) went out while the makcik and the lady were pleading their case still. Seriously….I know venue is an important place but don’t la until like this. The Lad and I waited around till about 10.30am to which the Lad said he will ask whether decisions have been made at 10.31am hahahahah. And alhamdulillah, praises to Allah, we managed to secure a deposit to the place. The cobaan, mashaAllah.
The moment we stepped out, I cried tears of joy hahaha who wouldn’t after all that mess.
So yes, alhamdulillah, venue woes are settled. I do however pray that the other lady managed to get another venue to her liking because I know how it feels like and I really honestly will never pray for someone to be in such predicament.
So future bride-to-be(s), if you’re reading this, and if you’re planning to secure a CC. Please endlessly go down to the CC and double triple confirm with them with what is conveyed and what is written in black and white. I sincerely pray that no one has to go through that level of anxiety and momentary hatred for others for such things. In shaa Allah amin.
A wedding is not a competition, it is never to judge who has it better or who has it lesser. A wedding is just a formality for everyone to come together to enjoy the happy occasion for the reunion of 2 people.
In shaa Allah, may the rest of the process be more smooth sailing and whatever trial awaits us, we will be as humble and grateful still.
This blog is pretty much dead. Mainly because there isn’t anything major to update till now.
We’ve pretty much settled on the venues for both our solemnisation and reception. And oh boy, do I have story(ies) to share with regards to them. Let’s begin with the solemnisation, shall we?
Solemnisation:
Initially, the Lad and I agreed to his mother’s request of having the solemnisation at their family mosque in Novena. Since our first choice of reception venue is in the North, we had that mentality whereby, okay it’s fine, we will be able to make it.
After so much considerations which mainly consist of:
We have decided to change our solemnisation venue to somewhere in the North, basically 5-8 mins from where I live and where the Lad will be getting ready from (his uncle’s place) and 10-15 mins away from our reception venue. Obviously, all these were done after seeking the blessings and permission from the Lad’s mother.
The good thing is, it’s a new mosque (heh by now I think many would have been able to guess which mosque already). My aunt & Mak Tok (her mother-in-law) helped us with the booking of the hall. So the booking of the place was pretty much settled. Alhamdulillah. This confirmation was done on the same day after we’ve secured the reception venue. My mother informed me of the good news as she was out with my Aunt who solely came all the way from Brunei just to meet my grandparents & her mother-in-law before she goes off to Melbourne for raya and also because she wanted to help me with the booking of the hall. Love my aunt to death and to everyone who rendered their help.
Reception – Part 1 – Pre-booking
Now, this one is one mother of a drama. Needless to say there were some others that happened along the way but gosh, the torture on the booking day itself. I cannot.
So basically, my cousin who lived in the North had his wedding at this particular CC, apparently ever since then all the cousins who lived in the North have been having their weddings there, including my elder brother hahahaha. Lucky for us, the Lad’s uncle & his family live a mere 5mins drive away from the CC. Even the lad’s mother was rooting for the place. Me included. I love the place. Not too small, not too big, just nice and alhamdulillah it was within our budget.
Basically, I’ve been calling the chosen CC once every 2 months since the year started to check on the booking date. (I am annoying like that but I really want the CC) Just nice, 3 weeks before the booking date itself, I called in and it was a first come first serve basis (this was conveyed to us so many times via walk-ins and otp). The thing is, when I last called them, they said to call the eve of the night of booking to check whether there are any events booked for the date (?!?!) GIRL HERE PANIC OKAY. What if there was an event, then I need to chiong go down to every other places?
So here’s the thing, when I went down to the second choice, they said they are fully booked for the month for their own CC events :O I called TGC, they said they are booked too. I want to cry. I cried. Two days later, the Lad and I went on a CC spree ahahaha BUT THE ONES WE WANTED WERE ALL GONE.
I was having a nervous break down by then. Thankful for the Lad and everyone else who were calm though. They kept assuring me in shaa Allah, Allah knows best and maybe we will get our first choice of venue. So yeap. The wait for 31st May 2017 to come was damn long and the wait to get a confirmation was longer because of iasjdkalhsduahfa that happened. That will be for part 2.
// Before I begin, thank you for all the help rendered for my previous post. I truly appreciate it! ❤ //
Just like that, once again, we can all say bye bye to December holidays. 2.5 weeks gone. Finished. Not enough. I want more. Longer. Please.
This also means bye bye time to spend with the Lad. Pre-season starting and all the management craziness have kicked in. And to think he’d be traveling around SEA while poor woman here is stuck in this country, wrecking her brains as to how and what next to teach the kids at work. Imma be like Hagrid, only sadder.
All that aside, December holidays or any other holidays would actually be the perfect time for someone like me to get some of the wedding things settled. I think I did pretty okay over these 2.5 weeks.
With that, I didn’t get to post a 365 picture of us here, but in shaa Allah, here’s to a smooth journey ahead for the Lad and I for the next 351 days. Have a good ending to the 2016 and a greater start to 2017 everyone! 😀
Salam Everyone,
just a quick question (or 2 and maybe more).
I’m considering diy-ing my own wedding invitation card so I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good affordable printing place here in SG? I remembered reading from one of the BTBs’ blog about a printing shop in Tampines but I’ve forgotten the name of it. Would appreciate it if any of you do remember the shop’s name or have any other places of recommendations ☺️😘
Also, a good sticker printing shop? If the one above can do all these stickers too it’d be a bonus!
I think this is the last question. Anyone knows where I can get silica gels? Like big packets of them.
Thank you so very much in advance! The Lad and I will truly appreciate your help 😘❤️
My dearest R requested for me to update my blog here. Okay, technically she practically demanded from me for an update hahahaha. I love you, R. ❤
But honestly though, I don’t know what to update about? As mentioned in the previous post, things are just pretty stagnant.
My Mum recently told me that she and my dad would be sponsoring us the wedding favors. And when I saw what she wanted, I was floored. It’s a pretty damn practical thing but I don’t know if everyone will end up using it but I know I will at home/work lah and the Lad too. Even the FMIL liked the idea hahahaha which I was worried that she won’t. To each his / her own okay, but at the end of the day, I am so thankful to have such supportive parents. To see my mother stressing out and sourcing out these favors from overseas along with my SIL really humbled me. Here I am ‘relaxing’ away with regards to wedding preps but there they are hustling and bustling over it. I hope she’ll get what she truly wants though and won’t end up being disappointed with her ownself cause that’s the last thing I’d want my parents and loved ones to feel with regards to the wedding. Alhamdulillah, may Allah bless them with more rezeki and barakah. In shaa Allah.
Another topic that the Lad and I have been discussing about would be Kompang. Since it’s a combined wedding, the Kompang will only be one way.Initially the Lad and I thought that it doesn’t justify to pay hundreds of dollars on such things but then again, to make a majlis more meriah, it’s okay, we guess? We did list out some of the popular ones and tbh we actually wanted the ones that my Mum got for my elder brother but mak datok, their price went up by $400!
Thennnn, in May, my cousin had her wedding and the kompang group that performed was damn awesome, I was awestruck. I made my cousin-in-law asked the in-charge for their number and this budak is so damn nice, I cannot take it. I even print-screened the whole conversation to the Lad and the mother and they were gushing about how respectful this budak is hahaha. AND!!! One of my fav younger cousin told me that her friends are in that group. So small Singapore is. The Lad and I might be taking them up but we’ve yet to confirm anything because the Lad is fickle like that. I think this might be one of the things that the Lad is actually picky about. Good kompang music. He makes me worry about every other major things but he’ll take note of this small thing. *smack his head*
Another update would be the fact that even though it’s a combined wedding, the solemnization and reception venue would be at two different places which are 30 minutes apart from one another. Has there ever been an exception whereby people get solemnized at 9.30am in the morning?? Honest question here. The weddings that I’ve been to or know of usually have their solemnizations at 10am or after. 😦 Help.
Wahhhh, it’s been so long!
Honestly, I don’t think I would have updated if it wasn’t because my dearest best friend shared about her wedding updates and the fact that I’ve just finished writing 1500 words of reflection. Since I’m in the mood to type lengthy things, might as well right. Like the lad said ‘you tend to be too verbose in your writing’ hahahah I cannot disagree! I will always overshot my word count and digress to the point of no return!
Anyway, you know that stage or phase whereby everything is just pretty stagnant? Well ya, things are just pretty stagnant now cause the lad and I are basically going with the flow. Since we’ve pretty much covered the main components of the wedding, now we are just at the stage whereby we see money go in then money go out. AND WAH WHOEVER SAID SAVING IS EASY HAVE NEVER BEEN A MAKEUP ENTHUSIAST I THINK. But kudos to me (I think), I’ve been doing pretty well in cutting down on the makeup things unless truly needed. Like when my colleagues who are of an equal enthusiast or MORE come to me saying ‘DID YOU SEE THAT TOO FACED LIQUID MATTE?!’ or ‘UD ULTIMATE BASICS. NEED. NOW.’ I’m here literally crying on the inside while saying this:
Okay anyway, back to wedding topic. Although things are pretty stagnant, I managed to secure a booking with a photo booth vendor. I have been eyeing this vendor for the longest time ever. Like every single time when a friend or colleague mention photo booth, I will open their page on IG. I am that obsessed with them and mainly because I have only heard of nothing but good things. I even inquired with them end of last year, really, not lying. I didn’t book them last year though as at that point in time, I felt as though the photo booth era was dying and was afraid that no one would be hogging the booth at the wedding. But who am I kidding? I have aunts and uncles and cousins who love to photo booth still. It was proven at this year’s wedding of my cousin. So yes, this photo booth is mainly for them to hog hahaha. So after much discussion with the lad, we concluded that this vendor is still the one that we’d like to have on our big day. (I presented like 5 other vendors to him okay. It was a fair comparison.) It’s none other than S.napap.icture S.ervs. I am that lazy to actually do a proper picture post.
Every year, there have been a wedding in the big family and in shaa Allah if everything were to go smoothly, next year there will be another one and it’ll be mine and the lad’s. I hope this time round, everyone if not most, from overseas will be able to come down. In shaa Allah!
Salam everyone, it really has been a while since I last blogged. There is a post meant to be posted in March itself with regards to the booking of another vendor but it’s so long that I think I’ll just save it in draft for keepsake.
Nonetheless, alhamdulillah the lad and I have managed to secure two of the main components to the wedding which are catering as well as decor. We are no strangers to the owners of the company as my elder brother and sister-in-law took them up for their wedding two years back. Their decor is now a separate and different team but nonetheless in shaa Allah it will be okay. The vendor is none other than A.nggun by M.astura. We’ve liaised with both Kak Mas as well as Kak Nora and it was smooth sailing. (Though we do have to bug them for our receipts after our payments heh)
So far the main components of the wedding are pretty much settled I believe, looking at the checklist. Now, we are slowly slowly saving up to pay off the vendors. Hopefully we’ll be able to sustain with eating grass for the next 1 year 6 months 11 days :p
Now, we are wrecking our brains for a space to fit 1500-1800 pax. o.O We were thinking of having it at Grassroots as it is in the middle of where we both are staying but the price is a bit steep for us. Upon calculations of some CCs in the north that can cater to our number of pax made us thinking that there’re really not much diff of having it at a CC or the Grassroots. So now, we are somewhat stuck. & the CCs that we wanted are either based on balloting or first-come-first-serve basis (my cousin queued overnight for her wedding at this venue) whutttt. I even asked my mother ‘Ma, siapa nak layan queue overnight?’ and this mother of mine bluntly answered ‘You la, you want to kahwin right?’ Thanks ah mother. My dad went to a wedding in Silat Federation and he fell in love with the place hahaha. The moment he sat down he texted my mother to tell me (he don’t like to communicate wedding things to me directly hahahhaha he let my mother be the voice lol) ‘Tell kakak can try Silat Federation. Good parking space. Convenient. Big and aircon.’ BUT RIGHT! I READ ALL THE BLOGS SAYING SILAT FEDERATION IS SMALL AND NO AIRCON AND STUFFY TAU! (but I have a soft spot for that space too) How like this?!
I think I’ve asked this question before but can any of you suggest some places that can cater to the size?
Criteria:
a) must have aircon
b) must be accessible
c) must cater to 1500-1800pax
d) must be able to accept on-site cooking
P.S: Fasting month starts on the first day of the school’s official holiday for us teachers.
oflittlesteps 